Dr. Stone calls out God Dr. Stone said: God - if you re real -- Then come down right now and knock me off this platform. I'll give you 15 minutes!

Transcription

1 Rosh Hashanah Sermon (Day 2): Two Truths Story: Atheist Professor vs. Marine There s a story I heard when I was in college about Dr. Stone A physics professor at the University of Michigan (It s probably an Urban Legend but it s a good story) Dr. Stone was an ardent atheist and one day he told his class, I can prove to you that God doesn t exist. Dr. Stone calls out God Dr. Stone said: God - if you re real -- Then come down right now and knock me off this platform. I'll give you 15 minutes! 10 Minutes 10 minutes went by. The professor kept taunting God Saying: God, here I am / I'm still waiting. Last Few Minutes It got down to the last couple of minutes and a Marine just released from active duty and newly registered in the class, Walked up to the professor / hit him full force in the face and sent him flying off his platform. Dr. Stone questioned the marine Dr. Stone struggled to get up and obviously shaken -- yelled at the marine, What's the matter with you? Why d you hit me in the face? The Marine replied: Sir, God was busy protecting our troops in Iraq sir, so he sent me instead. Tension is real The story is kinda funny. But the tension btw the atheist physics professor and the God-fearing Marine The tension between the teachings of science and the teachings of religion are very real. Poll: Who created the world? A recent Gallup poll found that 38% of Americans believe in creationism

2 that we were created on the 6th day as the bible teaches. 57% of Americans believe in the theory of evolution Today is RH Today we celebrate the holiday of RH / the birthday of the world the year Still we wonder -- is the world less than 6,000 years old as the Torah teaches? Or billions of years old as Science teaches? Science as the enemy (Galileo) In the past / organized religion saw science as a direct challenge to its authority. Example -- in 1633 Galileo charged with heresy and ordered to stand trial After writing a book -- proposing a heliocentric solar system earth + other planets / revolve around the sun. Galileo a Threat The church viewed Galileo s ideas As a threat to the teachings in the bible Which place the earth at the center of the universe As it says in the Book of Psalms / (chapter 104:5) The earth and it s foundations can never be moved What did the Church do? What did the church do? A) Galileo -- house arrest B) Banned his book C) Made him recant his theory The Church believed: There could only be the truth of religion. but we aren t extremists in this congregation (at least I hope not) We have doctors / psychologists / and physicists. We aren t the medieval catholic church / ready to toss aside the truths of science. Big Question

3 The question on RH as we celebrate the New Year 5779 Is how can you be -- (modern + rationale) (and a faithful Jew?) How can you believe in both sci and Torah? My Contention My contention / is that it s possible: (of course, I m a Conservative Rabbi) To be a modern Jew / and a religious Jew A Jew who believes: In both science and the Jewish tradition. Two Possibilities There are 2 Theories that I ll present today that deal with this issue: 1) The Synthesis Theory 2) The Two Truths Theory Synthesis Theory: Aisha Torah First, let s examine the Synthesis Theory Which, I don t find to be intellectually honest / (It doesn t speak to me) Still -- I wanted to share it with you today. B/c it s used by a lot of prominent religious thinkers Synthesis Theory The Synthesis Theory believes: That there really isn t a conflict / between the Bible and Science, It only appears so to the naked eye. Dr. Schroeder One of the biggest proponents of the Synthesis Theory is Dr. Gerald Schroeder (who I studied with at Aish HaTorah) Dr. Schroeder s an orthodox Jew and an MIT physicist. and in his book Genesis and the Big Bang He uses his background in physics / in particular -- Einstein's Theory of Relativity To demonstrate that the 6-day creation story is compatible with the scientific notion the world is billions of years old. Bible and Light B/c the Torah teaches us that the first thing God created was light On the 1st day of creation God said: Vayehi Or Let there be light.

4 The Torah also tells us that the sun and the moon didn t exist until the 4 th day of creation and you need those celestial objects to determine time A day is determined by the sun / (sunrise and sunset) Therefore, if for those first 3 days there was no sun / how do you determine time? No Absolute Time Well Dr. Schroeder explains: Einstein s theory of relativity = no absolute time. In different frames of reference, The time interval between two events may be quite different. No Sun and Moon So, imagine there s no sun (1 st 3 days) Dr. Schroeder claims: That a day from God s frame of reference May appear to be 5 billion years from another frame of reference / a human frame of reference. Therefore / The Torah s 6-day creation story can be synthesized with science s claim that the world is 5 billion years Science Complicated The science may be complicated / but according to Dr. Schroeder // (this is the important part) There doesn t have to be a discrepancy btw science and Torah / on the creation account. You can actually use science to prove the Torah is true. Appreciate his Effort Now, I don t agree with what Dr. Schroeder is doing Trying to synthesize -- Science and Torah Still, I appreciate that as a religious Jew He s not ready to toss aside -- the teachings of science Talmud, Rabbis not at odds with Science If you look at Jewish history It s interesting / that unlike the Catholic Church, Judaism has never viewed science as an adversary.

5 Examples 1) Maimonides - Doctor 2) Einstein - Letter 3) Talmud - Debate Debate in Talmud There s a Rabbinic Debate in Pesachim To determine -- how many days it takes the moon to revolve around the earth. (which you need to know to determine Rosh Chodesh the new month) Who do we follow? The Rabbi s argue: Who do we trust to figure out the answer? Some say we follow Jewish scholars / but the sages determine we should follow the pagan scientists B/c in scientific matters -- they re smarter than us. Two Truths Model I call the Rabbi s model -- The Two Truths Model That Science and Judaism both teach us about the world, What s different? --The nature of their insights. Parable: R Schulweis R Schulweis has a parable which beautifully illustrates The Two Truths Model The parable involves an ophthalmologist Who performs an operation on a blind man / giving him sight Both decide to write books about the experience. Ophthalmologist s book In his book-- The ophthalmologist describes: The diagnosis / the operation / the instruments employed to manipulate the optical nerves. The language is -- analytical and precise. Blind Man s Book Whereas, the other book is written by the blind man Who s just been given sight after the surgery.

6 His book is filled with -- gratitude and excitement. He describes the first time he saw his newborn child, The first time he witnessed the rising of the sun. Contradictory? Are these 2 books contradictory? NO! Both books refer to the same event. They just have different intentions Differences The ophthalmologist is concerned with: the factual elements of the surgery. While the blind man is concerned with: what the surgery meant to him // What it meant to gain sight. 79 years old Similarly -- Science tells me that the avg person lives to be 79 years old =Fact Torah -- teaches me how to live a meaningful life during those 79 years =Meaning (Torah = How we should conduct ourselves to be our best selves) Big Idea As a modern Jew When I want to know / how the world was created I ll read an astronomy book. But when I want to know / Why the world was created or -- What the purpose of life is / I look to the Torah. I have Faith in God / I ll talk about it on YK However, we don t have to take every biblical story literally! - And we can still believe in the truths of the Jewish tradition - (extrapolate a little here and then explain more on YK) Newton In this way / I m no different than the famous scientist Isaac Newton It s fascinating to me that Newton

7 One of the greatest scientists in the history of mankind was devoutly religious. Science not the enemy He didn t see science as the enemy of religion. Rather / Newton is reported to have said: Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it can t explain who set the planets in motion. How did Newton come to this conclusion? So how did Newton / this great scientific mind, Believe in both -- God and the Laws of Physics? The answer is that Newton understood / The Two Truths Model That Religion and Science can both be true, B/c they both teach us different ideas about what it means to be alive. Problem with Science The weakness of Science is that it has no moral compass Whereas Judaism is all about being our best selves. Pack of Wolves Last month -- I saw a perfect example of the harsh reality of science / on the Discovery Chanel As they were showing a documentary on a pack of wolves. The scientists were saying -- that if one wolf breaks its leg The rest of the pack will abandon the wolf that s been injured. That s sci // sci tells us what is, That a pack of wolves will abandon an injured wolf b/c their hungry and they need to move on. Judaism is Different Judaism isn t morally neutral / (it tells us the way the world should be) It says: Don t be hungry like the wolf -- you re better than Duran Duran. If you see your brothers in Israel in need after a rocket attack Or in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria / (Hurricane Florence will be hitting the east coast) Don t discard them like an animal -- help them. 9/11

8 Today, is the 17 th anniversary of 9/11 The terrorist attack that changed our country forever. and look / it goes against your base instincts To run into a building that s on fire -- that s about to collapse (I don t care how much training you ve done) Remember all 3,000 Today / we of course remember all 3,000 victims who died on that fateful day We also remember the bravery of those first responders (the fireman and policeman) Who ran into those towers that were on the verge of collapse to save as many lives as they could. That s true heroism. Jewish ideal Those acts of bravery performed 17 years ago Speak to the Jewish ideal / that unlike the wolf We must never ignore the call of those in need For it says in the Mishnah: Kol yisrael aravin zeh bazeh all of us are responsible for one another. (Examples = Lighthouse Shelter donations / and the Winter Relief Program) Dr. Schroeder At the end of the day There are those like Dr. Schroeder Who think Science and Torah can be synthesized. But in my mind: They both teach us different insights about our reality. Torah is a higher Truth For me Science is a truth but Torah is a higher truth. For I know that Newton s 3 rd law of physics says: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction That s a truth! But I m not going to base my spiritual existence On how to raise my kids / on how to live a moral life on Newton s laws of physics. (although Sam would like that)

9 Judaism Teaches Judaism teaches: that for every action there is meaning, In every reaction / there is a purpose / there is God. Judaism teaches me / to love my neighbor / to honor my parents / to live as a mensch. Conclusion So, as we celebrate RH / and the New Year of 5779 We modern Jews can believe in both Science and Judaism B/c both speak to our fragile existence and both in their own way / give great meaning to our lives.